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Background

The Ilada Energy Company site is a 16.743 acre abandoned tank farm which formerly had twelve million gallons of tank storage capacity. The facility is located southeast of East Cape Girardeau in a rural setting next to the Mississippi River levee. In the 1980's the site was found to contain oil, sludge, and contaminated water, some of which contained a variety of hazardous and toxic substances including toxic heavy metals, industrial solvents, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).
The site came under Illinois EPA scrutiny in 1982 when an inspection report showed that the Ilada Energy Company was improperly storing, handling, mixing, and disposing of waste oils contaminated with PCBs. Stained soil near several of the tanks prompted several sampling events and installation of several groundwater monitoring wells. These and subsequent sampling events led the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) to list the site on the National Priorities List (NPL) in October 1989, and also led to a subsequent removal action at the site.

Site Update

February 2015
The Ilada Energy Co. site was taken off U.S. EPA’s National Priorities List of Superfund sites in January 2001 because the cleanup actions were successful in protecting the environment and safeguarding human health. However, EPA reviews locations every five years where hazardous waste remains managed on-site to make sure the cleanup continues to protect people from health threats. This cleanup requires the maintenance of institutional controls in the form of land- and groundwater-use restrictions. Installing drinking water wells is prohibited as is the construction of residences.

U.S. EPA completed the third five-year review for this site in 2014. The assessment reconfirmed the immediate health threats were contained, and the cleanup is functioning as planned by the 1999 Record of Decision. The review found the institutional controls were still working. The site is currently protective of human health and the environment in the short-term because the existing private recreational use is consistent with the activity and use restrictions identified in the ROD. Long-term protectiveness requires continued compliance with the restrictions on the land- and groundwater-use. This will be assured by creating a Long-Term Stewardship Plan that will include provisions for conducting periodic inspections and communicating with the property owners periodically. Illinois EPA and U.S. EPA will contact the parties legally responsible for the pollution and remind them they have ongoing responsibilities on the site.

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